IMSLP Forums

Hi,
I need to know the names of some fun "fast" (here I mean pieces with tempos marked from Allegro to Vivace) to learn. I normally go for more of the slower pieces, like Chopin Nocturne no 20 in C# Minor, Rachmaninoff Prelude in G Minor, Brahms Intermezzo in E flat Minor, etc..., but I really need to know the name of a fast, technical, fun, (but still pretty) piece to learn. Do you have any suggestions?
What I have so far are Beethoven's Pathetique (mvt 1 and 3), Appasionata (mvt 3), Chopin Etude Op 10 No 12
Thank you so much!!!

Well, it seems like you pretty much only do 19th-century stuff, but if you were willing to try something a bit more modern, there's Villa-Lobos's A prole do bebê No.1, especially No.7 ('O polichinelo'), although most of the others would work as well.

If you're up to the technical side, the third movement of the Chopin 2nd Sonata is a great choice.
Elsewise, Schumann's Arabeske or Phantasie, Op. 17 (also hard) are good.
And Chopin etudes: Nos. 1, 23, 24, 13 aren't too hard, and are very fun.

pianogirl23 wrote:Hi,
I need to know the names of some fun "fast" (here I mean songs [...]

[As you might guess, unless the composer actually uses the word in a title, it really grates against my brain when someone uses the word "song" to refer to a piece of music that has no voice parts. ]

CARL MARIA VON WEBER- PIANO SONATA NO. 1: IV. RONDO

This is exactly what you are looking for.

Oh, I forgot to answer the request in my earlier response.

I've been learning the Scherzino (No. 2) from Cui's Op. 8. Look through his 25 Preludes, too.

Perhaps maybe Mendelssohn's Variations Serieuses, or the easier Rondo Capriccioso?

If you want FUN and FLASH there's nothing like Liszt's "La Campanella" etude based on Paganini. Enjoy!

Chopin's "Winter Wind" Etude, Debussy's "Estampes," and Ondine by Ravel are all pretty fast and fun pieces that I enjoy.

Try the last movement - allegretto, off memory - of the Beethoven sonata in D minor "The Tempest"